replied the fox. 'Don't be afraid; she is quite
safe.' And he waited until he thought that his comrades had gained a
good start, and put at least five or six mountains between themselves
and the giants. Then he sprang through the door, calling, as he went:
'The maiden is here; take her if you can!'

At these words the giants understood that their prize had escaped, and
they ran after the fox as fast as their great legs could carry them,
thinking that they should soon come up with the fox, who they supposed
had the princess on his back. The fox, on his side, was far too clever
to choose the same path that his friends had taken, but wound in and
out of the forest, till at last even _he_ was tired out, and fell fast
asleep under a tree. Indeed, he was so exhausted with his day's work
that he never heard the approach of the giants, and their hands were
already stretched out to seize his tail when his eyes opened, and with
a tremendous bound he was once more beyond their reach. All the rest
of the night the fox ran and ran; but when bright red spread over the
east, he stopped and waited till the giants were close upon him. Then
he turned, and said quietly: 'Look, there is the Sister of the Sun!'

The giants raised their eyes all at once, and were instantly turned
into pillars of stone. The fox then made each pillar a low bow, and
set off to join his friends.

He knew a great many short cuts across the hills, so it was not long
before he came up with them, and all four travelled night and day till
they reached the castle of the Sister of the Sun. What joy and
feasting there was throughout the palace at the sight of the princess
whom they had mourned as dead! and they could not make enough of the
boy who had gone through such dangers in order to rescue her. The
golden hen was given to him at once, and, more than that, the Sister
of the Sun told him that, in a little time, when he was a few years
older, she would herself pay a visit to his home and become his wife.
The boy could hardly believe his ears when he heard what was in store
for him, for this was the most beautiful princess in all the world;
and however thick the darkness might be, it fled away at once from the
light of a star on her forehead.

So the boy set forth on his journey home, with his friends for
company; his heart full of gladness when he thought of the promise of
the princess. But, one by one, his comrades dropped off at the places
where they had first